Ruby Red
by Cheetah Goddess
Summary: I wanted to die, I really did. But...I don’t think I could, even if I tried. -Based on the Pokemon Special/Adventures manga-Franticshipping, RubyxSapphire
1. The End

It's funny to think that only a few short years ago, I would've shied away from getting down and dirty…that I would condemn such a _vulgar_ act as physical violence. Everything in my life had to be beautiful; my Pokémon, myself, the people around me… nothing could tarnish my pristine world.

That pristine world has long turned to ash.

Even the thick blood clotting the vision in my right eye couldn't stop me from beating the shit out of this garbage in my hands. No matter how hard I hit, no matter how many times I felt the satisfying crunch of shattered bone underneath my fist, my bloodlust could not be satisfied. The world was bathed in a hazy ruby red.

Ruby red…how fitting. I sometimes wonder if this is what my parents had in mind when they named me.

I tossed the man aside, content that he would have a hell of a time walking away from this…if he walked away at all, that is.

I prowled through the forest like a wild animal, senses on high alert. He was here…I knew he was here. The man who stole my life from me.

The man who killed Sapphire.

It was odd to me of how calm I felt at this moment. The grueling months of searching and tracking, the numerous false leads and dead ends…every single moment was worth it. I could almost taste the sweet zest of revenge on my tongue.

Two more of his henchmen tried to rush me from the sides; it was an easy task to knock the knives out of their hands, driving both of them down to the ground with a few well-placed kicks.

Pokémon…now that was another matter. A Mightyena jumped me from behind, latching onto my arm with jaws of steel. No matter how sorry I felt for the Pokémon and its rotten luck with trainers, it didn't change the fact that it was in the way of my goal. I tried to shake the creature off, almost too distracted to notice one of the men near me struggle to his feet.

_Almost_ was the key word. I managed to dodge his haphazard swipe, the knife barely grazing the skin of my neck. I swung my arm around in a wide circle, slamming the Mightyena into the man, sending them both flying.

I hoped his friend would be wise enough to stay down. I was in no mood to play games.

* * *

The sky screamed my fury, peals of thunder shaking the earth. My left arm hung limply at my side, warm blood dripping down my fingertips. I pushed the pain to the back of my mind; more important things begged for my attention.

Finally…_finally,_ after all my waiting, the man I have so dearly wanted to see slowly slithered out of the shadows, a most disgusting sneer twisting his lips.

I wanted to rush toward him; my mind shrieked at my body, telling me to run up and strangle him with my bare hands this very instant. But the unimaginable magnitude of my rage overwhelmed my senses, rooting me to my spot.

Only one thing stood out in my mind:

This was the man.

The man who killed my Sapphire. The man who single-handedly ripped my life from me and tore it to shreds. The man who took everything from me.

This was the man.

"Well, well, well! I thought I had managed to crush both of those pesky insects, but it seems one of them managed to crawl away! What an annoying cockroach." His leer grew as he smoothed his hair back with a hand. "Hello, _Ruby_. It's been a while, hasn't it? I never got to thank you properly for ruining my plans all those years ago."

I clenched my fists, silent. I had no words to waste on this filth.

He chuckled, crossing his arms. "Well, aren't we the chatterbox? I guess your still a little miffed about the explosion." He shrugged his shoulders. "Sorry about that. I didn't really have anything against your little girlfriend…she wasn't nearly as meddlesome as you were." Another disgusting sneer. "But, both of you did destroy my plans for land Pokémon utopia…so I thought I would try to kill two birds with one stone, you know? Poor girl…she was a pretty little thing, too…a little on the wild side, but there's nothing wrong with a little—"

"Maxie…" I growled the name, mouth burning from the acid dripping off my tongue. "Don't you _dare_ speak of her."

"Oooh, did I strike a nerve?" He slowly slunk toward me, a patronizing smile spreading across his face. "Haven't been coping well with the grief, I see. You should really work on that, _Ruby_." He stopped, inches away from me, close enough for me to put my hands around his neck. I willed my hands to move, but to no avail. I was frozen in place, my whole body shaking with suppressed rage.

"Don't worry, boy. I made sure to place enough explosions in that house to destroy a skyscraper."

Memories flooded my senses: the initial euphoria of the day, the bright sunlight, the blue sky…an earsplitting explosion, thick black smoke, screams…my own screams…

I only stepped out for a moment…it had only been a moment…

And the discarded cloak bearing the Team Magma insignia, waving like a flag in the wind…

He put a hand on my shoulder, my skin crawling at his very touch. "Her death was quick and virtually painless, I promise you."

Some people would try and tell me that revenge isn't the answer…that Sapphire wouldn't want me to be like this. She would want me to live on and be happy.

Those are empty words. Sapphire can't say anything anymore.

She's gone.

"The girl probably didn't even feel a thing."

There's only me left. No one can tell me what is right and what is wrong. No one can tell me what I need to do. I wanted justice.

And I would have it right now.

I lunged for his throat, voicing all my pent up rage and fury. I could have managed to snap his neck pretty easily if the sharp pain in my gut hadn't stopped me, cutting off my scream in a ragged gasp.

The lightning lit up his face, the patronizing sneer taunting me. "Although, I can't promise the same for you, _Ruby_."

I looked down, watching as my lifeblood oozed around the knife hilt protruding from my stomach. Bile built up in the back of my throat; my knees gave out, sending me to the ground.

The man stood over me, the same smile still stretched across his face. "Just think of this as a favor; I've given you a one-way ticket to visit that little bitch you loved so much. No need to thank me, though! It's the least I can do, since _you're_ giving me the great pleasure of watching you die. Slowly…and painfully." He chuckled, walking away.

Painful coughs shook my body; I could taste the bitter tang of blood trickling from my mouth. I closed my eyes, biting my lip to silence the screams.

This wasn't the way it was supposed to happen.

My eyes flew open, forgetting all the pain.

This was supposed to be _my_ revenge.

I struggled to my knees, newfound rage surging through my veins.

This taste in my mouth was supposed to be sweet.

Quietly, I rose to my feet, my anger giving me strength. I ripped the knife from my own stomach, stalking my prey. He would not take this away from me too.

He didn't even have a chance to turn around.

* * *

I managed to stumble out of sight of the corpse before collapsing against a tree, retching more blood and bile. I feebly reached up a hand to wipe the mess off my chin, the energy from my rage quickly ebbing into fatigue. I looked down at my clothes; they were completely ruined. Between the blood splatters and tears, there was now way that I could possibly salvage them.

Despite myself, I laughed. I laughed and laughed…laughed until the pain choked off my laughter.

It's funny to think that only now, I'm beginning to worry about my appearance. To think that only now, all the bruises and gashes I've obtained are beginning to throb unbearably. That only now, the grief I've bottled up from loosing Sapphire is hitting me like a freight train.

Rain began to pelt my immobile body, washing away the tears and the blood in rivers of ruby red.

Ruby red…how fitting. I wonder…if this is what my parents had in mind…when they…


	2. Ruby Red

* * *

As I floated through my dreams, I thought I heard an angel's voice, guiding me away from the darkness and into the light.

I desperately wanted to waft in the darkness. At least the darkness held no pain.

* * *

The first indictor that I was not as quite dead as I had originally thought was the incessant beeping. The second was the pain.

The strong scent of cleaning products assaulted my nose. I fervently wished that I would drift back into the lulling peace of unconsciousness…but the minutes dragged on, and I was still in the purgatory of the living. Reluctantly, I opened my eyes, blinking against the bright light.

"Oh! You're awake!"

I whipped my head to the side, heart skipping a beat. The bright smile of a hospital nurse greeted me.

"You've had us worried! When they brought you here, you were just barely clinging to life…we didn't know if you would pull through!" She jotted a few things down on the clipboard in her arms. "I'll go tell the doctor the good news. Please don't strain yourself; I'll be right back."

I watched her exit the room, a hole growing in my chest. For a minute I had almost thought…

I closed my eyes, heaving a sigh. Of course this hell would have more in store for me.

"…thank goodness…oh, thank goodness…"

I turned my head around slowly, looking toward the other side of the room. I wasn't going to be fooled again・

I had to be dead. There is no way that I would be lucky enough to have this angel sitting next to me if I wasn't.

"But…how?"

The girl wiped her tears with a bandaged hand. "Rono was with me in the basement when the explosion happened. He threw up a Protect just in the nick of time to protect us from the explosion, but we ended up trapped under the burning house." She put her hands in her lap, fiddling with the edge of her shirt. "We were down there for a long time…Rono couldn't keep up the Protect forever, so I had to dig us out. They didn't expect anyone to survive that, so no one bothered looking…"

"Oh."

I couldn't think of anything to say.

I didn't know which emotion was stronger…my relief that she was still alive, or the crushing guilt that I had jumped to the conclusion that she was dead. The remorse that I hadn't even tried to search through the ruble; that I had left her there underneath that burning house.

I slowly reached up, covering my face with my hands. She was alive…and I had left her for dead. A sob wracked my body, my nails digging into my flesh. How could I be so selfish?

Her beautiful face fell, hesitantly touching my arm with a finger. "Ruby…"

"I'm sorry, Sapphire…I'm so sorry…" The tears flowed freely now; I was took weak to restrain them. "I should of looked…I should of waited…I'm so stupid!" I pounded my forehead with a fist. "I couldn't protect you from anything! I was only thinking of myself! I'm so stupid!"

She gently lifted my hands from my face, holding them in her own. "No…don't blame yourself. No one expected anyone to walk away from that."

"But, I—"

She placed a finger on my lips, silencing me. "I said don't blame yourself!" She looked at me for a moment, then sighed, hiding her face in my hands. "…I was worried, you know. They wouldn't let me out of the hospital to look for you." I could feel her warm tears on my hands. "No one knew were you were…you were always already gone when we though we had found you. And then, the night when they let me out of the hospital, we found you like _that_…" Her voice caught in her throat, unable to go on.

I stared at her, more guilt eating a hole in the pit of my stomach. "…Sapphire, I—"

"But, it hurts me even more to see you blaming yourself for everything." She looked back up at me, a brilliant smile shinning through her tears. "Can't you see that I'm just happy you're here with me now?"

"Sapphire…"

"I know you did what you thought you had to do…I probably would have done the same thing." She placed my hand on her cheek, stroking my fingers tenderly. "Can't we just forget about all that and be happy?"

I closed my mouth, the lines in my face smoothing out. I reached out both of my hands to cradle her face, bringing her ruby red lips to mine.

Ruby red…how fitting.

* * *

**A/N: AH HA HA? You wouldn't expect this out of me, now would you? I can write more than just fluff! 8D**

**...No, actually I hated writing it. Well, that isn't it. I liked writing it, I just hated myself for writing it. It's so daaaaaark... D8 It's tainting my world filled with fluff and rainbows! **

**I debated killing Ruby in my head for a long time...I was about to do it, too. XD But, it just tore at me inside, so I had to bail myself out. XD I can't leave this story completely without hope. :3 I hoped you liked it! 8D**


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